"Why would you say that? What do you know?"
Ōtsutsuki Shinichi and his companion stared at Ryūjin, their eyes wide with disbelief.
The final instructions left behind by their ancestor, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, were known only within their clan. The command to destroy the ninja world created by the Sage of Six Paths was not something an outsider should know.
Yet the person in front of them had just warned them not to target Earth.
If he knew nothing, then those words made no sense.
If he did know, then that was even more impossible.
Ryūjin had no interest in explaining anything to them.
He turned, preparing to leave the moon, but suddenly paused. His gaze shifted toward a corner behind the hall.
Shinichi followed his line of sight, and his expression changed instantly.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri had arrived.
None of them had sensed him, not in their current condition.
"Toneri, run! Get out of here now!"
Shinichi shouted, panic filling his voice.
It was unnecessary.
If Ryūjin had intended to kill them, none of them would still be alive.
Strictly speaking, these Ōtsutsuki were not evil. They had simply misunderstood Hamura's will. Even if they had thoughts of destroying Earth, they had not acted on them.
Killing them for that alone would be excessive.
A warning was enough.
Toneri turned to flee, but the moment he moved, he bumped into someone.
Ryūjin.
"Don't hurt him!"
"He's just a child!"
Shinichi and Gengetsu shouted desperately, their voices strained.
Ryūjin ignored them.
He crouched in front of Toneri and reached out, lightly pinching the boy's cheek.
"Remember today," he said.
"Keep it in your head. Don't come up with any stupid ideas about destroying the ninja world."
His tone remained casual, but the weight behind it was undeniable.
"Because if you do, I'll kill every last one of you."
A space-time vortex formed in his eyes.
In the next instant, his body was pulled into it and vanished.
Toneri collapsed where he stood.
His legs gave out completely.
The pressure Ryūjin had exerted left him unable to move, as if his body had turned to stone. Only after Ryūjin disappeared did the tension release.
He realized his entire body was soaked in cold sweat.
Shinichi and Gengetsu finally relaxed when they saw Toneri unharmed, but what replaced that relief was something far worse.
Despair.
With someone like Ryūjin on Earth, how could they ever fulfill Hamura's will?
A space-time vortex appeared again.
Back in his room, Ryūjin stepped out of Kamui.
"In that kid's head, I'm probably some kind of monster now," he muttered, shaking his head.
Toneri had been completely shaken, even though Ryūjin had barely done anything.
Good.
If the kid ever thought about causing trouble on Earth, he would remember this moment.
As for explaining Hamura's true intentions, Ryūjin had no interest.
That belief had already driven them to wipe out their own main branch. Words alone would not change something that deep.
Two sentences were enough.
Anything more was a waste of time.
"Ryūjin, the Hokage didn't make things difficult for you, right?"
Not long after, Uchiha Fugaku came to see him personally.
Ryūjin leaned back slightly, looking uninterested.
Yeah right, like he could.
"He told me not to stress about it, said he'd handle everything, then sent me back."
He repeated the same explanation he had given before.
Fugaku frowned.
That did not sound like Hiruzen Sarutobi at all.
Still, the negotiations with Kumogakure had resumed smoothly. That meant the Hokage had indeed handled the situation.
Even so, something felt off.
After a brief exchange, Fugaku left, his doubts only growing stronger.
Later, he learned that on the night Kuroki was killed, all the major clan heads, except himself, had secretly gathered in the Hokage's office.
That detail made everything worse.
"This isn't normal," he thought. "There's something behind it."
He investigated privately but found nothing concrete. Only traces of a conflict in the Hokage's office, and the deaths of a few Anbu.
Beyond that, nothing.
Even the Hokage himself felt slightly different, though Fugaku could not put it into words.
Thanks to Nara Shikaku's plan, the death of the Hokage never spread.
Only a handful of people knew the truth.
To everyone else, the Hokage was still alive, appearing when needed, handling matters as usual.
The peace negotiations with Kumogakure progressed steadily.
A treaty would likely be signed within days.
But beneath that stability, something else was moving.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi" held secret meetings almost every day.
The topic was always the same.
The Uchiha Clan.
Inside the Hokage's office, Homura Mitokado threw a file onto the desk.
It was Uchiha Shisui's profile.
"Uchiha Shisui, descendant of Uchiha Kagami," Homura said. "Like his ancestor, he carries a strong Will of Fire."
"He is one of the few Uchiha who places loyalty to the village above his clan."
"He is trusted by the Hokage."
The others skimmed through the file.
Nara Shikaku barely glanced at it before setting it aside.
He already knew who Shisui was.
"Homura-sama, what's your plan?" Shikaku asked.
"After the Nine-Tails incident, Shisui approached the Hokage himself," Homura replied. "He offered to help ease tensions between the village and the Uchiha."
"He also revealed his Mangekyō ability."
"Kotoamatsukami."
The room grew quieter.
"It allows him to alter a person's will without them realizing it," Homura continued. "Even a Sharingan user cannot detect it."
That caught everyone's attention.
"Then you want him to use it on Ryūjin?" Shikaku asked.
"Exactly."
The others exchanged looks.
It was a dangerous ability, but in this situation, it was effective.
"If Ryūjin isn't that mysterious figure, we can force him to reveal the truth," Shikaku said. "If he is…"
He stopped there.
There was no need to continue.
Once controlled, it would not matter.
"He'll become a puppet."
Jiraiya spoke up from the side.
"Can Shisui be trusted?"
"He passed both my evaluation and the Hokage's," Homura replied without hesitation.
That was enough.
The decision was made.
Unseen by all of them, Ryūjin watched everything through the Telescope Technique.
He leaned back slightly, unimpressed.
"Using Shisui, not bad," he muttered. "At least they're thinking."
Unfortunately for them, the plan was doomed.
Soon after, Homura summoned Shisui in secret and gave him the mission.
Control Ryūjin with Kotoamatsukami.
Even then, Homura used the Transformation Jutsu to appear as the Hokage. Trust only went so far.
"Understood, Hokage-sama," Shisui replied without hesitation.
He had already resolved himself long ago. If necessary, he would even use Kotoamatsukami on Uchiha Fugaku.
Ryūjin was no exception.
In a flash, Shisui disappeared.
The next morning, inside the Uchiha compound, he found his chance.
"Ryūjin, morning."
Ryūjin glanced at him.
"Morning, Shisui."
They walked together toward the compound gate, just like any other day.
"Ryūjin, there's something I need to tell you."
Shisui stopped.
Ryūjin turned to face him, expression unchanged.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry," Shisui said quietly. "But I have to do this."
Ryūjin frowned slightly, playing along.
"Do what?"
Shisui's Sharingan spun.
Kotoamatsukami activated.
A command was implanted instantly.
Uchiha Ryūjin, from now on, the Hokage's will is your will.
Ryūjin's expression froze for a brief moment.
Then it returned to normal.
"Alright," Shisui said. "Go to the Military Police Force. After your shift, come with me to see the Hokage."
"I understand."
Ryūjin nodded and walked away.
Later that day, after work, Shisui brought him to the Hokage's office.
Behind the desk, "Hiruzen Sarutobi" flipped through documents, a pipe in his mouth as smoke drifted upward.
Homura Mitokado's acting was solid.
At the very least, far better than the kind of people who relied on tricks and editing to fake it.